All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems often have units that are specific to each seat on an aircraft. For example, some systems include seat-back displays, others include overhead displays, with still others include some combination of the two. Display units, whether overhead or seat-back, are typically installed at fixed locations on commercial aircraft. As technology advances, the need for wired communication between different display units becomes unnecessary, but in fully wireless IFE systems there is a need for a method of registering device locations for each display unit in the system.
In wired installations the physical locations of installed devices can be determined at run-time by analyzing the topology of the network connection between them. In wireless installations this is not possible; all wireless devices appear on the network as peers, so their physical location cannot be inferred from the network topology. The physical location of all wireless line replaceable units (LRU) must be known for accurate system status and fault reporting and to support targeted delivery of services based on aircraft cabin-class or location.
Thus, there is still a need for improved methods of associating locations with devices.